A Time to Reflect

Dear Family and Friends,
This evening I'm writing my Nikki's very nice laptop.  She and Steve are enjoying a night out and I was given the chance to take a break from a nasty trouble filled day and relax with these precious little kiddos.  Coaxing Kallie to finish her yogurt so she could finish some ice cream was a challenge.  She just loves life and had a hard time sticking to the chair so she could finish her meal.  Then she played, dancing, bouncing, balancing until it was finally time for her to give it up and crash.  She did not give it up easily, she wanted to keep playing but finally settled into her little bed for the night.  Some time ago Nikki and Steve upgraded their heating and cooling system into a zoned one so upstairs is wonderfully cool so sleeping comes easily for all.
Keanna was relaxed this evening and enjoyed winding down with a kids program on TV and playing games with my IPHONE.  I can always tell when she has had the phone as the battery is nearly dead at the end of the day.  She always asks before downloading a new game and so far has treated the phone with respect.

I rolled out at 7 after working until midnight last night.  I went right to work doing research for today and figuring out where I was going and what I was going to do with the day.  At 10:20 I arrived in Walnut Creek to inspect the really high quality townhome.  The owner was a specialist in saving energy and has a lab at the University of California.  He was very interesting to chat with.

Once that inspection was completed I raced back home to pick up Keanna from school.  After a quick stop at McDonalds we went home and I went back to work.  Keanna comes and stands beside my chair and does her homework.  She is becoming quite the reader, does well with cursive writing and her spelling is amazing.  She is confident, proud of her abilities and is just doing great.  Her teacher is amazing and Keanna loves her so much.  Once the homework was completed I resumed writing a review of the propert I inspected in Napa on Monday and then moved on to a nearly two million dollar home in San Ramon.  I'm not done with that one, as i started 3 times the power went off and I had to start over.  Then for quite awhile the internet did not work so progress was very slow.  At this point I'm very behind and need to have more of me to get caught up.  The stress level grew and grew this afternoon as I realized that I would not be completing the big one today, things just kept getting in the way.  My desk computer is growing very slow, its nearly 8 years old and failing fast yet I need it to make my income.  As always there are many places to put the money that comes in and right now there is not enough to cover everything I face.

A brief report on the motorhome.  It looks even better in the light.  It is so clean that it sparkles.  The renters really did a super job of cleaning it inside and out.  There are times I wish I could just take off, drive to Mendocino and walk the beaches for a couple days.  At the present I have put all exercise, all down time and anything but work aside yet I'm still not keeping up.

We had a warm day today and the AC churned quite a bit.  Starr shares my office so stays cool with the little AC in my window.  She is very happy to have a different water bowl.  One that has a lower lip so she can drink while she lays down and refills itself.  Thanks to Lois and Ray for the loan of that nifty little device.  Marilyn found some larger pads and today Starr managed to fill several of them.  I think it comes from drinking so much water.

Well I expect the kids home later so perhaps I'll catch some sleep in this comfortable chair.

This evening as I've been with the little ones I had time to remember just how wonderful it is to have both my kids so nearby and to be able to enjoy the little ones.  I walked the hallway upstairs and enjoyed the dozens of photos of the family, of when Nikki and Steve had just met, the trips, their friends.  Nikki and Steve have worked so hard to make this home special.  The reef tank that Steve has set up right now is a total work of art.  Is is so beautiful and fun to watch the little creatures, fish and corals. the crabs and with special lighting it is really perfect.

So I'm sending love to all,

Tim